Rosenhan's Theory Of Abnormality Analysis

The definition of abnormality is crucial to establish whether someone is diagnosed as mentally ill, and the treatment that the patient receives is primarily based on the diagnosis. To determine if someone bizarre behavior is an indicator of a psychological disorder, mental health professionals may use specific criteria such as context and persistence of the behavior, subjective distress, effect on functioning, to name a few.
Rosenhan theorized that if the criteria for the diagnosis are adequate, then the mental health professionals should be able to distinguish between the sane and the insane. Also, he wanted to identify if the diagnosis are tied more to the situation than to the patient. To prove his theory, Rosenhan introduced normal people
–pseudo patients- in psychiatric facilities, and examined the doctor and the staff ability to discriminate between normal and mentally ill persons.
Although the mental health professionals failed to detect the pseudo patients, part of the real patients suspected they were not mentally ill. Hence, the experiment portrayed an unpleasant reality in which the professionals were overlooking the patients –not considering them “real people.”
Rosenhan’ study demonstrated that even trained professionals cannot distinguish the normal from the mentally ill, at least in a hospital setting. He, also, proved the danger of diagnostic labels.
How we can empower the patients by labeling without stigmatize them?
It’s well known how admitting that we have a problem constitutes the fundamental step for our recovery. It is somewhat utopian diagnose a psychological disorder without traumatize the patient.